All of these things come beautifully coated with astounding visuals. The environments are lavishly detailed, right down to the etchings on the sides of the wooden buildings. Characters move fluidly and, for the most part, convincingly. Frame rate issues, screen tearing, and various other technical snafus happen so infrequently that they’re hardly worth mentioning. However, there are a couple graphical glitches that won’t necessarily ruin the game, but they might cause some unintentional laughter. During a couple cutscenes, for example, characters would be speaking but their mouths would not move. Additionally—and very rarely—weapons and various other things (including enemies) would be left floating in the air.

The voice cast for this entry does an amazing job. Couple this with the impressive score and sound effects, and you have an experience that rivals that of several Hollywood blockbuster films.

This is really the magic of Assassin’s Creed III. At times, you feel yourself deeply immersed in the video game elements, but at a moment’s notice you’re transported to an experience that rivals most feature films. I think it’s safe to say that players will come away from this game satisfied. In fact, the next installment—if there is one—will have some incredible shoes to fill moving forward.

As I said in the beginning of this review, I fully intended to be “tricked” by this title. However, with such an engaging storyline, refined combat, and content that perfectly complements the time period, Assassin’s Creed III is a revolution, not only to the series, but to the genre itself.